Inconclusive
by broken-hearts-always-lie
Summary: Set between S1/S2. Cosima never left Minnesota to go see the others. Instead, Siobhan had her take Kira. Two years later, Delphine finally tracks her down. When they're reunited Delphine is shocked at the drastic measures she's taken for them to survive. Delphine will drag her back to Toronto if she has to; meanwhile, Cosima's only concern is keeping Kira safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Twenty-one Months Ago**

"Please, Cosima.. Where are you going?"

"Why, so you can tell _Leekie_?" Cosima continued folding clothes into some semblance of order only to toss them into the suitcase haphazardly when she had, unable to meet Delphine's eyes out of fear of cracking, "I'm _such_ an _idiot_."

 _I shouldn't have trusted you._

Cosima finally turned to meet Delphine's eyes, holding a shirt in her hands as she continued, "What else did you tell him?!"

"Nothing! Just the seven names. Nothing about.." Delphine pauses, dangling a threat over Cosima like a noose, "Kira."

Cosima finally dropped the clothing in her hands, giving Delphine her full attention out of horror.

 _Was this really Delphine?_

"She's an anomaly, you know that?"

"Delphine, you can use me," Cosima gesticulated as she spoke, hardly able to think clearly past this one thing as her throat tightens painfully, "-that's fine. But _don't_ go near that little girl."

She's close to crying again, she can feel the tears burning in the back of her eyes as if they were proof she was human.

 _How many more people are going to do this to us?_

"I _didn't_ and I _won't!_ "

 _Kira doesn't deserve to be entangled in this mess, even as Sarah's daughter._

 _No child does._

"GET OUT!"

"Please listen to me," Delphine moved in front of Cosima out of desperation, reaching for her only to sit down on the bed when Cosima pulls away, frustrated tears finally reaching the surface, "Just let me tell you this one thing.."

"Just listen to me," Delphine repeated again, softer this time as Cosima turns around to face her, her hand already wiping away tears before Delphine could see them, "I didn't want to fall for you."

 _Of course, no one ever does._ Cosima presses her hands to her forehead to try and fight off the headache already well passed developed, "-I wasn't supposed to, but I have."

Cosima's hands fly away from her head and this time her voice is as vulnerable as she feels, "How can I possibly believe that, Delphine?"

"Because you _feel_ it!"

 _Ugh_.

"It's not a lie, it's not possible.. You know I've never been with a woman before!" Delphine's eyes looked desperate, but Cosima can't entirely evaluate _why_.

"Yeah, it showed."

Cosima almost expects her to stay, not that she wants her to, because the second before the door _almost_ shuts she breaks down into tears.

Half an hour later, when she's too emotionally drained to let herself cry anymore, Cosima calls Sarah to warn ahead, only for Siobhan to pick up.

* * *

Delphine's hand hovered above the green calling symbol while she hesitated. Should she call ahead?

She knew Cosima had every right to be mad, but what Delphine did was only for Cosima's own safety.

She didn't necessarily enjoy breaking Cosima's trust the second the brunette entrusted her with her own vulnerability. She wouldn't let Leekie play her again; however, she knew she would willingly use Kira as a bargaining chip against both DYAD and Cosima if she had to in order to continue keeping the clone safe.

 _Paul Dierden was right._

Working in the field and monitoring a subject (Cosima was not just any subject) is worlds apart from seeing only paper work and results.

Delphine never anticipated becoming so attached to Cosima.

With that in mind, she pocketed her phone and knocked on the heavy metal door of Felix's loft.

The door opened and Felix is folding his arms in an almost seamless transition as he gave her a once over before a dramatic, "Well, now I get it.."

He definitely comes off as a protective sibling.. Felix, much to his slight amusement despite the situation, doesn't even have to try hard to get the point across.

"Uhmm, is Cosima-is she..?"

"-It's Delphine!" Felix calls over his shoulder as he moved out of the way, signaling for her to move in before he shut the door and locked it again.

Alison was sitting on the couch, nursing a bottle of wine.

 _Where is Cosima?_

Without another moment to let the blonde gather her surroundings, Sarah turned and promptly decked her in the nose, "You must have lost your bloody _shite_ thinking you could come here!" Grabbing onto her shoulder, Sarah dragged her towards an empty chair and forced her into it.

Alison watched the pair with fake disinterest before she huffed and rose from her spot to go into the kitchen.

"Where are they?" Sarah gruffed, voice hoarse as she folds her arms similar to Felix, only with less sass and more threat.

"Who?" Delphine questioned while holding her nose.

"Kira, S n' Cosima. Where did DYAD take them!?"

"What.." Delphine murmured as Alison returned with a damp, clean dishrag.

"Don't spill blood on the carpet, I just cleaned it." Alison returned to her spot on the couch, going straight back to drinking.

"Well?!" Sarah questioned once Alison finished, arms still folded, "Where are they?"

"Cosima is not here?"

* * *

"Go Kira!" Cosima laughed, clapping as she watched a tiny head reappear in the deep end of the motel's pool after diving in seconds before.

"Auntie Cosima, will you join me?" Kira spoke between giggles, clinging onto the edge with wet hands and arms.

"I don't know," Cosima grinned as she dog-eared a page in the book she was reading, "I haven't been swimming in years, and it'll take forever for my hair to dry."

"Pleease~?" Kira gave her puppy dog eyes, causing Cosima's light-hearted laughter to float through the air.

This she could do. Hanging out with Kira until she righted her wrongs wouldn't be close to the worst, or the most boring thing in the world.

She was still hurting from Delphine, but the kid was an awesome distraction.

"Alright," Cosima smiled as she untied the cover-up skirt she was wearing and took of her glasses before walking towards the corner of the pool.

Kira watched, grinning in victory as Cosima sat down and slipped into the water in a fluid movement, "Holy-watershed it's cold."

The six year-old giggled splashed her slightly before swimming back to give Cosima a little room (even her feet couldn't touch the bottom, comically), "Auntie Cosima, when is Mrs. S coming back?"

"She said she'd be back in a few days."

"She said that a few days ago."

Cosima shrugged her shoulders, "do you want to leave without her?"

Kira shook her head, causing wet curls to splash water into Cosima's face.

Laughing, Cosima carefully wiped the water out of her eyes with the back of her hands, "Okay, one more night, alright?"

Kira nodded and grinned, "Auntie Cosima, watch this!"

Ducking under the water, Kira flipped herself around in a circle before rising back up.

"Wow, Keer', that was awesome!"

Laughing, Kira cleared her eyes before stopping and pointing towards a car that was pulling up on the other side of the motel, "Who are they?"

Cosima knit her brows together and looked towards the direction she was pointing, only able to make out a bald head without her glasses, "I don't know, but lets not find out. How about we go back to the room and get cleaned up, okay?"

Kira nodded and they both swam towards the small steps that led out of the pool.

* * *

"Auntie Cosima?" Kira questioned as Cosima quickly continued to pat down her dreads as well as she could.

"Yeah, Kira?" Cosima moved about the room, packing certain things from her suitcase into a duffel bag Mrs. S had brought by with Kira's clothes and her own.

She started taking out some of Siobhan's clothing, hastily tossing them into her suitcase, Kira watched her curiously, "The man outside is bad, isn't he?"

"Yeah, Kira. Get the toys you want to take and hurry." Cosima quickly paced across the room, grabbing her coat and pulling it on to fight off the mid-winter weather.

Kira did as she was told, stuffing a few stuffed animals and a coloring book into an already half-full backpack. As she did so, Cosima went into the bathroom and shoved both of their toiletries into a bag before tossing that into the duffel bag.

Cosima opened the closet and pulled out Kira's coat, scarf, and mittens before walking back to her and helping her into them, insisting she wear the gloves, "Where's you're hat, Kira?"

Kira pulled away and looked around for it as Cosima zipped up the duffel bag and buttoned up her own coat, "I can't find it, Auntie Cosima."

Cosima nodded and pulled the beanie off of her head, "That's okay, you can use mine, alright?"

Kira nodded, making a tiny squeak of disapproval as Cosima put it on for her before grabbing the duffel bag and her purse.

Kira followed suit with her backpack as Cosima opened the door to the room Siobhan got them and peeked her head out to look down both ends of the hall before signalling for Kira to follow her.

* * *

"So you're telling me, you have no idea where they are?"

Delphine nodded resolutely, "If I knew where Cosima was, I would be with her."

Sarah huffed out an exhausted breath of air, "And you just expect us to believe you?"

"I know I haven't given you reason to trust me, but what I did was for Cosima. I'd do it again if it really would have kept her safe like I was led to believe."

"-by the boss you've been shagging, no less?" Felix added with a snort, moving to place a cup of tea in front of Sarah.

"Look-I know you have no reason to trust me, but I want to-I _will_ help you find Cosima. I don't care if I have to burn DYAD to the ground to make this right."

"What do you think happened?" Sarah spoke, lighter this time and missing it's usual bite. They were close to two sides of the same coin at this point.

"I don't know, but Cosima bought a buss ticket to get here, if she's not here then that must mean _DYAD_.."

Alison moved for the first time since they'd started talking, "...black bagged her and locked her up in a rabbit cage somewhere?"

Delphine hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You're going to find her," Sarah stood up from her seat, moving to hover above Delphine to get her point across, "And when you do you're going to help us find Kira n' S and then you're going to get DYAD off of our bloody arses. Got it?"

"Yes.. of course."

"And I don't care if Cos' forgives you, you're going to stay the hell away from her once this all blows over."

Delphine bit her lip, looking like a kicked puppy when she nodded again, "Fine."

* * *

"Auntie Cosima, I'm cold."

"I know, monkey, so am I. But we only have two more miles 'til we get to the rest stop, okay?" Cosima spoke on auto-pilot as she tightened her grip on one of Kira's hands, the other holding an old flashlight.

"Am I gonna see mummy soon?"

Cosima stopped in her place and turned to Kira, kneeling down to her height and gently grabbing onto both arms for emphasis, "I don't know, Kira. I'm sorry you have to go through this, but I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you and that you'll- _like_ -totally see her again soon, okay? For now we need to lay low and keep you safe that way that can happen.

"What about Mrs. S?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. She was supposed to meet us yesterday. Once we get to the rest stop they should have a pay phone and we can try and call her from there, alright?"

Kira nodded, "Okay.. Auntie Cosima?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me a story while we walk there?"

"How about we make one up together?" Cosima stood back up, holding her hand out for Kira to grip.

"Like in school?"

"Just like in school. I'll start?"

Kira nods.

" _Okay._ Once, there was a little monkey who lived in the jungle.."

* * *

Cosima cursed under her breath for the fifth time as she looked over towards where Kira was sleeping restlessly in a cocoon of bags and coats. Hanging up the phone, she pulled it back and put in more change as she tried calling for what must have been the seventh time.

 _...The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected_ -

"Shit!" Cosima slammed the phone back into it's place, rubbing her forehead in aggravation as she paced in the small sectioned off area of the rest stop.

 _This is_ so _not good_...

Pulling out her wallet again, Cosima pulled out enough change for a coffee and a snack for when Kira wakes.

 _Okay, new plan, find somewhere with a bed.._

Looking down at the fake credentials Siobhan gave her, Cosima bit down on her lip and closed her eyes.

 _Fake ID, fake credit cards.. No other choice, just get it together._

Cosima squared her shoulders and grabbed a phone book to start looking for somewhere nearby to stay.

* * *

 **One Year Later**

"Oi! Take a break, yeah? You look worse than the bloody dead." Sarah gruffed as she walked into the loft.

Delphine's hair was tied up into a messy bun, and she could almost feel the bags under her eyes, "This is impossible," Delphine huffed as she leaned back against the couch, "I'm never going to be able to find them."

"You'll be lucky to live past forty at the rate you're going. Come on, meathead, it's time you took a nap or something. You can't find them when you can barely spell your own name." Sarah pulled the computer away from Delphine, ignoring her complaints as she put it into hibernate (and in the kitchen).

"Can to.."

"Go to sleep, the computer will be there in the mornin', yeah?" Sarah walked back to Delphine and tossed a quilt from Siobhan's house onto her lap, physically having to push her head down onto the nearby pillow for Delphine to lay down, "Six hours, no less. Got it? I'll be back by tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Delphine mumbled, her accent exaggeratedly thick.

"Art thinks he may have a lead, but it's a ways out. I'll send Alison and Helena by to make sure you remember to eat something, Felix should be back at his usual time to make sure you're still breathing. I swear, you're like a freaking puppy." Sarah grumbled as she pulled on a jacket, "You better get some sleep, idiot."

Delphine nods and like every other day for the past couple of months, Sarah is out the door.

* * *

"Auntie Cosima, I'm tired."

"I know, monkey." Cosima mumbled as she switched on the lights to the room they were staying in for the next week.

This town was small, conveniently so. They only had wifi at the library and the old woman at the bed and breakfast they were staying in only asked to view her ID so that she could get the name down correctly in her log book. It'd be the perfect place to stay.. after all, DYAD hadn't caught onto their trail for months now. So long as they didn't mess this up, they might be safe here for a while.

The town was small, but it did have it's charms.

Cosima locked the door behind her as Kira ran towards the bed and dramatically fell down in a heap. Cosima smiled slightly and started taking off her coat. Hanging it up in a nearby closet, she set the old duffel bag they still used down on the floor. "Get your pajamas on, I'm going to go clean up and then you can."

Kira groaned, but gave in and got up from her spot as Cosima pulled out her favorite pair of harem pants and headed off towards the bathroom.

Coming out several minutes later after changing, teeth brushed and face washed, Cosima was working against the tie in her hair as she sat down on the bed as Kira went into the bathroom, dragging her feet. She waited until the door clicked shut before pulling the sheets back, then she turned on a bedside light before walking over and turning off the other.

Kira came out and stumbled onto the bed, barely making it under the covers before she was (mostly) asleep.

Cosima took off all of her jewelry (which had significantly diminished over the course of a year) and her glasses, setting them on the nearby table before pulling shut the curtains and joining Kira in the bed.

They wouldn't wake until well into the afternoon.

They were lucky not to have to sleep in the beat-up bug as it was.

* * *

 **Present Day**

Cosima rubbed against her forehead with the heel of her palm as she walked over towards the door, still unable to stand in one position without wavering as she knelt down to retrieve her shoes.

 _Shit, last night still hurts._

Straightening her back she began unlocking the door and went to open it when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against a naked body.

"Come back to bed with me.." The voice behind her came out as almost a whine.

Fighting not to roll her eyes, Cosima shook her head, "I have to make sure the babysitter gets Kira to school on time."

"Mmm, _Call,_ or better yet..." _move in with me._

A nose burrowed into the crook of Cosima's neck, causing her to squirm out of the woman's reach, "I really need to make sure Kira isn't late. I'll see you later, okay?"

* * *

Delphine had no idea what she'd gotten herself into when she caught a flight from the UK to the Detroit Airport and then proceeded to follow her GPS to the location of the last person to search Cosima's name.

She expected everything and anything-even Cosima being dead, but she didn't expect to see the brunette walking a little girl clutching onto her hand as they went towards the direction of an elementary school.

 _Kira_.


	2. Chapter 2

Delphine had no idea what she'd gotten herself into when she caught a flight from the UK to the Detroit Airport and then proceeded to follow her GPS to the location of the last person to search Cosima's name.

She expected everything and anything, even Cosima being _dead_ , but she never anticipated seeing the brunette walking with a little girl clutching onto her hand as they went towards the direction of an elementary school.

 _Kira._

They stop in front of an 'all-organic' convenience store and a little girl around the age of six with curly orange hair comes bounding out with a backpack matching Kira's.

The girls hug, and the shorter of the two grabs onto Cosima's other hand before they continue walking.

 _Cosima has Kira._

 _"Excuse me?_ "

Delphine pulled the phone away from her ear, Felix's voice raking against her hearing painfully, "Quoi? What did I say?"

"Cosima? What does she have to do with Sarah posing as Alison for that stupid family event at the rehab clinic?"

" _Merde!_ Non, Felix. I found her!" Delphine shakes her hands in exasperation as she speaks despite the fact he couldn't see her.

"Wait, for real? The lead on Dreads came through?"

 _"Oi! What's going on?"_ Sarah's voice sounds from over the phone, exhausted as ever.

"Put me on speaker, Felix."

"As you wish, wonder-hair... You're on."

"Sarah? Cosima is here." _She has your daughter_ dies on her tongue before she even gets the courage to say it.

* * *

After checking into a local bed and breakfast then returning to the store, Delphine watched transfixed as Cosima swiped an item through the scanner.

The eyeliner was gone but her dreads were still up in a ponytail and cat-eye glasses were still on the bridge of her nose.

She may have altered her memory of Cosima in her absence but the brunette was more beautiful than she recalled.

"Do you have a discount card?"

"Non."

Cosima nods, "I'll use mine, then. Don't tell Shannon," Cosima flashes a smile as she looks up only to have it falter half a second later as her muscles tense when she realizes who's looking at her.

Delphine's gut twists when she realizes Cosima had only dread in her eyes.

On cue, a curly, orange-haired woman appears behind Cosima and puts an all too comforting hand on Cosima's shoulder, only managing to make her flinch under her touch, "Hey, Mark messed up Mrs.G's favorite bread recipe, do you think you can go help him? I can take over here for you."

Cosima nods and offers Delphine a shaky smile before leaving the register and quickly disappearing behind several aisles. Taking the spot Cosima was previously standing in, the red-head, _Shannon_ as her name tag read, offered Delphine a bright smile, "Sorry about her, that one is more skittish than a mouse sometimes. I take it your the woman who's renting a room in my mother's Bed and Breakfast?"

"Emm.. oui?"

"Oh, and french, too? No wonder you have her all flustered!" Delphine raises her eyebrows towards the overly cheery woman (manager?) "Oh, don't think too much into it, news travels fast!"

* * *

When Delphine finally gets to her room, she managed to lock her door and take off her pants and sweater before all but passing out on the bed. She wakes up three or four hours later greeted with the sounds of screams and giggles.

 _"Auntie Cosima!"_

Cosima's laughter filled the air as Delphine crawled off her bed and walked over to an open window, taking in the sight of her from across the street. Cosima had changed into a black mini-dress and was running around barefoot on the lawn of an apartment complex. Around her, Kira, a young boy, and the girl from before were running in circles squealing, trying to escape a man in a gym teachers uniform.

Pulling away from the window, Delphine smiled slightly before letting out a heavy sigh and moving towards the bathroom to clean up and brush her teeth.

 _Cosima seems happy, for now._

She can wait a few more hours until she sees her again, can't she?

Either way, she's useless at this point for a confrontation. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Delphine returned back to the bed and let jet-lag reclaim her.

...

In the middle of the night, however, she awakes to the sound of hushed voices in the hallway.

"You're back early."

"I know. Where is she?" Delphine's heart lurches at the sound of Cosima's voice. _Is she talking about me?_

"Asleep in your old room. Why don't you stay here for the night? Free of charge, of course."

"Sure.. Thanks. That would be great, just.. let me get some stuff from my apartment before you lock up?"

"Lock the front door and you got a deal."

...

A few minutes of staring up at the ceiling later, the front door opens and closes and quiet feet pad upstairs only to enter the room across from her, making no noise when Cosima closes the door.

* * *

Cosima rubs the sleep out of her eyes and smiles after she leaned over Kira to put her glasses back on, "Morning, Keer'."

Kira giggles, smiling as she parrots her aunt who looks less than enthused at waking up before ten, "Morning, Aunt Cosima!"

Checking the time, Cosima hums tiredly and rests her head back down on her pillow, "Wow, it's early for you. Do you wanna sleep in and have breakfast later or go watch Saturday morning cartoons?"

Kira grins, "You know the answer."

"Obvs.. Go brush your teeth. Clean clothes are on the dresser. " Cosima waited for Kira to head off into the small bathroom before shutting her eyes to get a few more minutes of sleep. She still hurts.. everywhere, to no surprise, but its Saturday.

She didn't have any plans for most of the day and staying a little while longer in an actual bed was too tempting.

* * *

Cosima walks down the stairs and waves at Veronica and Shannon, "Good Morning. Where's Mark?"

"He thought it best to stay at his house, this wife of his is having morning sickness. Sit down, child. There's plenty of food to go around."

"-Is what she means is she made to much and is doubting her other guest can eat it all." Shannon drones, face nearly falling into her food when the hand her chin is resting on slips.

" _Other_ guest?"

Shannon gives her a half-hearted smirk, playful for a brief moment despite the hangover, "the french woman from the store?"

Cosima's throat tightens, "Oh." Glancing towards the stairs, she walks over to her usual spot and grabs a glass off of the table before finding a pitcher of orange juice and pouring the glass half-way, "Kira will be down soon."

Shannon tilts her head in Cosima's general direction as Cosima grabs her niece's bowl and walks back over to the small breakfast cart to get cereal, "Hey, what's up with you lately?"

Cosima answers too quickly, "Nothing is up with me, why would anything be up with me? I could ask the same about you."

Shannon snorts and gets back to eating, "You're a shitty liar."

* * *

Delphine opens her eyes, struggling to adjust to the sudden ray of light drifting through the window with a small groan before she realizes that she's not on Sarah's couch and in a bed. More importantly, she knows where Cosima is for a change and that happens to be right.. beneath her?

Light-hearted laughter is coming from downstairs.

It sounds like music to her ears.

A small smile tugs on her lips as she looks out at the window and pulls herself up to head into the bathroom for a quick shower.

 **...**

Delphine stops at the base of the stairs when she sees Cosima coughing into a napkin.

She doesn't want to think that she sees blood; however, her stomach is knotting up in worry as Cosima gets up to toss a paper napkin away and return to a glass of cranberry juice and a half-eaten serving of cinnamon oatmeal.

There's a small spattering of blood on her lips that's gone unnoticed by everyone except her and the white-haired woman ... Veronica?

Delphine snaps out of her reverie in order to avoid being caught staring and forces a smile at the four occupants of the table, "Good morning."

"Oh, Delphine, you're finally up! Feel free to have as much food as you'd like."

Delphine nods at the now chipper woman before taking the empty seat by Cosima, grabbing a bowl and getting a serving of fruits.

Cosima stops mid-bite when Delphine sits back down next to her. Glancing at Kira, who is next to the end of the table and eating a bowl of fruit loops, Cosima bites down on her lip before returning to her food.

"So, Delphine.. do you have any plans today?" Veronica was the first one to speak after an awkward silence fills the air.

"Not really. I need to head over to the library to contact an old friend, but other than that I hadn't really thought of anything." Delphine pauses before smiling bashfully, "I left most of my work back at home, and my job should be able to look after itself for at least the three days I have planned to be gone."

* * *

"So, how is she?" Sarah is the first one to break the silence, skipping an introduction.

Delphine swallows, feeling like more of an ass as she looks down at her hands, "She.." _is alive, has your daughter, is_ sick.. "-She's scared."

Sarah's eyes soften for a beat, the emotion playing through her features not going unnoticed by Delphine _or_ Felix.

"Just... take it slow with her, yeah? If she's scared then she's prob'ly just as unpredictable as Helena was before we got through to her."

Delphine nods after a minute of thought, raking her hand through messy curls, "I just.. She's showing signs of the auto-immune disorder, Sarah."

"Then you need to be careful. If you give her reason to think your still in DYAD as deep as you were, we might not see her again until she's six feet under."

"You're right." Delphine falls silent, shifting her legs in the chair she's using as Sarah and Felix enjoy their tea. She was beginning to realize it would have been easier to let Sarah tag along like she'd wanted; but even then, with Cosima having Kira it could have exploded into a mess.

 _If Cosima has Kira, where is Siobhan?_

* * *

Opening the door, Rebecca playfully pushes her inside her home as she follows behind her, "This is new."

Cosima rolls her eyes at the British lilt in the blonde's voice, "No it's not."

Rebecca is quick to close the distance between them, giving Cosima what she thinks she needs and allowing her to not think about a specific blonde as she pushes her brunette roughly against the door of a nearby coat closet, "You never call on me. Bedroom or basement?"

"You choose." Cosima moves to press urgent kisses against the mayor's neck as she starts working on taking off the black blazer covering her shoulders. Cosima all but chucks it onto the floor, earning a noise of disapproval from the mayor as she begins unbuttoning Cosima's coat without a second thought, noticeably putting more care into her movements.

Cosima is rushing the two of them.. she knows that Becca has a board-meeting in an hour.

 **...**

Cosima lets out a shaky breath as she watches Rebecca rise from the bed in her basement to get dressed.

She pulls the covers over her naked body and watches as straightened, thick, strawberry-blonde hair (naturally it was orange like her twin's hair) was swept up into a messy bun. "I'm not gonna lie," Cosima hums softly, "I'm kind of tempted to get completely baked right now."

Rebecca chuckles and looks back at her, "I thought I told you to stop."

A rare, playful smile lights up in Cosima's eyes, somehow able to find humor in the situation. It wasn't like she had a choice. "What're ya' gonna do, _Madame Mayor,_ _spank_ _me_?"

Rebecca smirks and saunters back over to Cosima. By now she's only missing her blouse. She makes a show of climbing up onto the bed to reach past Cosima's frame and snatch the silk top that matched her blue eyes from behind her, "I might do so later, dear."

Rebecca pulls away and begins putting the blouse back on as she tries to contemplate the sudden change and willingness in Cosima's demeanor. Normally the brunette wasn't remotely comfortable around her. "My husband is going to be swinging around to pick up the divorce papers in three hours, I expect you to be out of the house by then."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

Delphine lets out an exhausted huff of smoke as she sits against the window sill in an act adopted from Felix.

She shakes her head briefly as she continues half-listening to Alison's chatter.

She can't get Cosima out of her head (..granted, she hasn't been able to since she was requested to become her monitor).

When she returned from the library she'd originally settled on calling Alison to check up on her, but somewhere along the way she'd settled into a chair by the window while secretly hoping she'd catch a glimpse of the brunette out by the apartment complex. Unfortunately, it was almost nine and the brunette had yet to show.

"-doodles, that nurse is coming again! Can we talk tomorrow, Delphine?"

"What? Oh.. oui. Have a good night." Should she tell her about Cosima? So far only Art, Felix, and Sarah knew.

Alison says her goodbyes.

As they hang up Delphine is just about to head back to the chair (and her laptop) to continue what little work she brought with her when she saw a movement flickering out of the corner of her eye.

A light turns on in the apartment complex's upper level and shortly after, Delphine is watching as Cosima walks into what she can now discern as a living room.

* * *

Cosima was fixing the bottom of her dress as she walked into the living room when she hears a steady knock at the door.

Racing over to it, she opens it and smiles at Mark and an almost-asleep Lily, "Hey."

Mark walks inside, "Hey. ..When are you going to fix your heater? It's freezing in here, and the weather is only going to get worse with the season."

Cosima shrugs as she pulls on her coat. In truth, they didn't have enough money at the moment to heat the whole house, which is why she keeps the space heater strictly in Kira's bedroom (the only bedroom) at all times, "I'm planning on getting it fixed by next week. Kira's already in bed."

The taller of the two nods, "Alright. See you tomorrow?"

"Actually, I should be home early tonight," Cosima pulls a sweater over her shoulders, "Too much is going on lately, 'kinda just want to get paid for dancing and come home, nothing extra today."

Mark nods as he pulls a blanket over his 'sister', "Well, I can't wait to get rid of this one next week."

Cosima offers a small smile, "And we can't wait to have her... I'll see you later? There's food in the fridge, first aid kit is on-"

"-top. I got this, go." Mark sits down next to Lily and pulls out a laptop.

* * *

Delphine followed Cosima into town, completely ignoring her promise to Sarah about taking it _slowly_.

She knew she shouldn't have; however, she could easily blame it on the town's night life (or lack thereof).

The entire situation reminded her of when she was officially Cosima's monitor... before she dragged herself to the top in order to keep Project Leda safe and find Cosima in the process.

Delphine stops in her tracks the second Cosima does. They're standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and although Cosima hasn't turned to acknowledge her, Delphine suspects that Cosima knows she's behind her.

Her confusion only grows the second Cosima turns and heads straight into what is advertised as a gentlemen's club.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Delphine is in denial and Cosima is falling for none of her attempts to bring her back to Toronto... Towards the end, Cosima only really wants to top.**

* * *

Delphine didn't follow Cosima inside. Instead, she retreated to a nearby bar (that was more empty than the streets) to get a glass of wine and attempt to sort through her confusions.

Was she bartending there? She hoped so, the idea of others seeing or touching Cosima made her seethe.

 _That she didn't even have the right to made it that much worse._

To her, at least, Cosima was above dancing for tips.

She didn't want to know why she was there, at least not for now.

Maybe she was just meeting a friend..

* * *

Cosima smiles as she sits on Kira's bed, gently combing out the tangle's in one of Kira's dolls hair as the little girl plays with a stuffed octopus toy.

Her temperature has started to spike this morning, but she isn't worried since it's become a common occurrence with the auto-immune disorder.

The worst part out of all of it right now is the hot flashes, which is a good thing considering other possibilities.

"So, are you excited for Lily to stay over?"

Kira nods, "I want a cousin.. Am I going to call her my little sister at school, though?"

Cosima shrugs slightly as she sets the doll down, "I think you can call her whatever you want, Keer'."

Kira nods again, slipping the toy under one of their blankets to pretend its hiding, "Auntie Cosima, are we going to have to go away again?"

She looks up at her, "What makes you think that?"

Kira shrugs one of her shoulders as she picks up the doll Cosima set down and puts it in a small toy chair, "There's been a lady watching us, she's pretty but she makes you scared."

"Does she scare you?"

"Not like Mrs. Greene does."

Cosima looks up at her and continues slowly, "Do you think we should leave?"

She knew better than to question Kira's instincts.

The lizard had it down.

"...Maybe not just yet."

* * *

Delphine hesitates at the front door as she feels her hands unconsciously tighten around the wicker basket Veronica had asked her to bring over.

It was only Cosima, right?

Biting on her lower lip, Delphine raises a hand and knocks against the old wood of the apartment door before trying her best to make herself feel comfortable, casual.

She was only here to give Cosima the food.

A minute passes.

Delphine is about to knock again when she hears the sound of scuffled footsteps on the other side of the door. A deadbolt is unlocked and the door opens part way (the door chain is still hooked into place).

Cosima appears in the small space, "Yes?"

Her voice comes out groggy and nasal; its only after Delphine gives Cosima a once over that she realizes Cosima's wearing loose pajamas and her throat is swollen..

She bites down on her lip unconsciously again, "I-emm.. Veronica asked me to bring you this." She wiggles the basket in her hands lamely to catch Cosima's attention and the brunette glances down at the basket and back up to her for a moment before shutting the door.

...

The chain is unlocked, and Cosima opens the door, glancing out to make sure no one is in the hallway before gently nodding towards the inside of the apartment after taking the basket from Delphine, "lock the door behind you."

She nods and shuts the door, turning the deadbolt to lock it before walking into the apartment awkwardly. She moves to sit on a large couch only to realize that a makeshift bed has taken place on top of it. A top sheet is tucked into the cushions with another on top, a huge fluffy pillow is by one of the arms that is closest to a coffee table and a quilt lies draped across the couch.

 _Did she wake her, after all?_

Delphine turns to look back at Cosima who is rounding the corner of the dining room and living room into an open kitchen, leaving the kitchen's open bar to separate them.

Wordlessly Cosima turns her back to Delphine and starts putting the food away into a nearly empty fridge.

She takes the moment to look Cosima over.

Her dreads are braided off over one shoulder leaving her hair parted unevenly to the right. Her frame looks thinner than she remembers, but at the same time its not altogether unhealthy. Loose pajama pants are falling low on her hips and an even looser burgundy tank manages to cover the strip of flesh that would have been revealed by the pants. She's not wearing anything over her shoulders and Delphine can't help but wonder if she'd rather retreat back to the safety of her couch by guess of the goosebumps forming on her arms.

Cosima turns around to put something in the pantry and her eyes immediately snap away to look at anything but the clone.

The apartments walls are white wash and nondescript, the floors are wooden and there are old rugs covering the floors of both the living room and dining room. The dining space only consists of a round wooden table and four chairs gathered around it. The living room only offers a couch, an old clunky television on a small stand with a VCR underneath (she wants to say it's been ages since she's seen one) and a few toys scattered about suggesting the presence of Kira... who is no where to be seen.

Across from her spot in between the couch and the doorway, two french doors stand bare and imposing. One is shut, the other is cracked open just enough for Delphine to realize its a bathroom.

Cosima shuffles slightly, opening the oven that's near the fridge to pull out a loaf of bread and wrap it in a white cloth already in the basket, "Can you bring it back to her?"

"Of course," She holds her hand out for it, voice more gentle than she's used to allowing given her current position between the clones and DYAD.

"Thanks.."

Without another word Cosima rounds the corner again and hands her the basket.

Delphine panics when she realizes she's supposed to leave by the way Cosima is staring at the floor, arms folded and clearly fighting the urge to lean against the kitchen's bar for support.

 _How sick is she?_ Biting her lip, she silently urges Cosima to look back up at her. She doesn't want to leave her alone.

 _She doesn't want to leave her at all._

When Cosima doesn't return her gaze, Delphine finally breaks the silence, "Can we.. _talk_ somewhere?"

Cosima looks up.

She could easily have been a deer in front of headlights, or the lamb that was eaten by the lion.

"There's a diner on main street... it's pretty small. I'll meet you there on Monday before my first shift at eight?"

Delphine smiles, "That would be great."

* * *

Cosima sat up slightly when her cell phone vibrated. Kira didn't move from her place on the opposite end of the couch where she was watching 'Quest for Camelot'.

Rubbing her eyes, she pulled herself up further and put her glasses on before reading the text.

Rebecca wants her over.

Tossing the phone back onto the table in a small huff, Cosima settled back into her spot curled up on the couch.

She'd worry about it later.

 **...**

"Is your bag by the door?" Cosima questions Kira after dinner. They're both still sitting at the table, Kira is busy coloring while Cosima is reading a recent article she'd printed from the library.

 _This town really needs better access to wifi._

Kira looks towards the front door and nods with a small, "yep!"

Looking up, Cosima smiles, "Good. Are you showering tonight or tomorrow?"

"After I finish."

"Alright, should I count on picking you up right after school or are you going to the after-school program?"

She shrugs as she takes a drink of water, "I think I'll stay after."

Cosima nods, going into the kitchen to take care of dishes, "I need to go into school tomorrow with you and make sure they don't release you to anyone unless its me. Even if we're staying for a while longer I don't want to take any chances."

Kira nods in agreement, mirroring Cosima in the action, "Can you help me with my science project on Tuesday?"

"Totally, Keer'... _but_ history assignments first."

Kira whines and puts her head on her book, causing Cosima to stifle laughter.

* * *

Delphine had hoped she'd beat Cosima to the diner, leaning on the fact that the brunette was 'kind of always late, kind of always sorry'; however, when she arrived Cosima was already tucked off into a booth in the corner sipping what looked like iced chai tea.

She looked relaxed for the most part, despite the fact that her shoulders were baring the slightest amount of stress.

When Cosima looks up from a paper (it looks like a report?) a shy smile plays on her lips, "Good morning."

"Bonjour, Cosima." Delphine walks over to her and takes the spot vacant to her, "I didn't know they served chai tea at small diners."

Cosima grins, ice broken as she gestures towards a small box lying on the main counter labeled 'suggestions', "If you beg enough, eventually they will."

 _That and it helps to be in good graces with a mayor who plays the entire town like a marionette._

"Is the coffee good?"

Cosima shrugs, "Can't complain.. it's not _Starbucks_ , though."

Delphine chuckles as she takes off her coat, setting it in the empty spot to her right, "You are such an American, Cosima." Turning around, she caught the attention of one of the two waiters currently outside of the kitchen and ordered a coffee.

Cosima smiles moving the papers off to the side in a relaxed manner, "Obvs."

Delphine returns the smile, "So.. How are you? Better than yesterday?"

"Much."

"How long have you been sick?" _That's not the right question.._

Cosima looks down at her tea, uncomfortably pushing the straw in a circle, "I started developing mild symptoms around the time you became my monitor.. I didn't realize I caught the auto-immune disorder until I arrived in Toronto after our fight."

 _Putain_.

"Two years? Unmonitored and without treatment?"

Cosima shrugs awkwardly, "There's a _clinic_ I go to occasionally if it gets bad enough, for a little extra cash they'll keep me off of their records.."

Delphine was about to comment, only to be interrupted by a waiter bringing her the coffee. Once they are alone again, Delphine moves to reach out and grab Cosima's hand to try and put emphasis into her next words-only she falters midway and instead goes to pour a splash of cream into her coffee. "...Will you come back with me to get samples? We've come to understand that the disorder's-"

"-Kira and I aren't going anywhere unless Siobhan comes and tells us to, Delphine. Kira has school and I have work. We're not leaving, especially not for _DYAD_.."

 _Aïe_... "Oh-Okay." Delphine's hands wrap around her disposable coffee cup to keep them from clenching, "How is she, Kira?"

Cosima shrugs, using the moment to scratch at the back of her neck, "Almost the top of her class.. She's really into soccer and choir."

She smiles slightly, "She'd get on well with Gemma and Oscar."

Cosima shrugs again, moving to pull on her coat for warmth but taking no further move to get up and leave, "She might've."

 **...**

Delphine's hand brushes against Cosima's in a casual manner as they head towards the store Cosima is apparently working at.

She could have let her leave alone, but it seemed appropriate to escort her to her job like she did on their first unofficial date (which she royally messed up by inviting Leekie over and _bailing_ when Cosima kissed her in her apartment).

That and even Cosima's slightly cold company was a welcomed change to trying to find her.

"Will you be here if I leave and come back?"

"Will you come back alone?"

She nods, "Oui."

"Like I said, we're not going to leave unless there's a threat or if Siobhan shows up." Cosima folds her arms as she unconsciously pulls a light grey coat closer, "How are the others?"

Delphine lets out a gust of air as she gently winds her arm around Cosima's in an attempt to come off as friendly and casual.

Cosima's muscles tighten briefly under Delphine's touch before relaxing when the immunologist doesn't try to lead her anywhere.

"Alison is in rehab. Helena is living with her boyfriend. Sarah and Tony are still staying in Fee's apartment-"

"Who're Helena and Tony?"

"Clones from your _batch._. Helena was the European clone who killed-"

"Katja?"

"Yes."

"Holy shit.. I don't even want to know the story behind that."

Delphine smiles softly, "She's sweet, really. There were a few problems initially but she's grown to be a favorite among your sisters."

Cosima stops in front of the doors to the store, pulling her arm away to turn and face Delphine.

"If you're leaving, when'll you come back?"

"No later than ten days, I have to arrange a check-up for Helena's daughter, visit Alison and make sure that there are no problems with Rachel's new _living conditions_."

Cosima doesn't comment on the malice suddenly staining Delphine's voice, instead she takes a step back and tilts her head slightly, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. Early."

Cosima nods slightly, "I ..hope you have a good trip."

* * *

Cosima sits on the large black leather couch, her legs tucked under and hands resting on her lap and absentmindedly twirling one of her rings around as she waits for Rebecca to finish whatever paperwork she was currently filling out.

Rebecca glances up occasionally, but it's not until she's on the last paper that she speaks up.

"Stop that."

Her eyes snap up from where she'd spaced out as she tilts her head, "Stop what?"

"Agonizing over whatever has clearly bothered you these past few days," Rebecca rose from her seat and walked over to Cosima, only stopping to pull a black pencil skirt down half an inch, "It's particularly nettlesome."

"Wow, okay the-" Rebecca cut her off, placing a hand under her chin and pressing her lips against Cosima's.

"- _ **Behave** **.**_ " Rebecca lightly smacks Cosima's left cheek, causing her to flinch slightly before Rebecca stands straight and returns to her desk. "Derick wishes you to join us tonight. Can I count on you showing around nine?"

Cosima fights to stay still in her spot, wanting nothing more than to get up and leave the room, "I'll think about it, it's a school night."

* * *

She hesitates at the door, clutching onto the papers and trying to ignore the chill running down her spine.

It's selfish, but for the time being she'd rather play Carmen then end up in Rebecca's basement with _him_.

It didn't help that Kira was currently playing over at Desmond's house.. it should have, though.

Checking the hallway for Shannon, Cosima reaches out with her free hand and raps against the door, sucking in an anxious breath of air before "Delphine?"

"Une minute!"

Cosima looks to the floor and bites down on the corner of the inside of her mouth.

The door opens and she almost freezes in place.

"Cosima?"

The soft tone in Delphine's voice throws her.

She looks up and takes in a shuddering breath as her bottom lip trembles for a fraction of a second before her lips- _and teeth_ -are on Delphine's.

Delphine takes a moment to react, but eventually pulls Cosima flush against her with an arm around her waist before all but hauling her into the room, shutting the door, and pinning Cosima against it.

Her hands are colder than she remembers them being.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Note for the future, Mark is Castor!Mark. ... And yes, I did cut off a cophine sex scene, gimme' some merit, there will be one coming... soon, but this fic isn't really meant to be one that's smut orientated, so.. yeah.**

* * *

Cosima feels like she is losing her grip on reality.

She doesn't know when a lightning strike must have caused the electricity to go out, but she's thankful none the less since she won't have to explain bruises and new scars to Delphine.

Pushing her against the wall, Cosima gains ground and barely remembers to toss the papers she brought over onto a coffee table before she's on Delphine again, pressing urgent kisses to her neck and all but scrambling to take off the blonde's blouse.

..

Across town, Rebecca paces her room as Derick lies comfortably on their bed, "she should be here."

"She did say _maybe_."

Rebecca turns around to look at her dark haired counterpart, "Rachel only doesn't show if she or Kira are too ill."

"Cosima,"

"Yes, you dimwit, get with me!"

Derick sighs, rolling his eyes before getting up and walking over to her, fully nude whereas Rebecca is still fully clothed, "You called her _Rachel, love_."

"Is it so awful that I want her to be?"

Derick loops his finger through Rebecca's blazer, sincere, almost sad smile gracing his face before being replaced with a smirk as he pulls on it to draw her closer, "In a way, _Cosima_ could be better than _Rachel_ for us."

Rebecca scoffs, rolling her eyes, "I fail to see how."

" _Cosima_.." Derick pops a button from Rebecca's blazer, followed by another, and another.. "Lily loves her like a mother-"

"I'm her mother."

"But," He slides the blazer off of her shoulders _slowly,_ more for his own delight than anything else before pressing light kisses along her shoulder, "Rachel could never provide such a role." He loves this woman, even with her strong fixation on the clone that used to be the face of DYAD, "Rachel is cold, Cosima is open, _pliable_."

Rebecca's hand goes up to his head, stopping him from moving further and keeping him in place, "That might be true..-"

"-Cosima's vulnerable like Rachel never was, easier to control.."

Rebecca moans as he bites down on her shoulder, far away from her neck to mark and not be seen, "You're right."

"I know."

 **...**

"Stay a while?"

"I have to go pick up Kira and Lily from a friend's house before the storm gets worse."

Delphine looks distressed at the thought but lets go regardless, sitting up when Cosima gets off the bed. "Sarah knows I've found you, what should I tell her when I return to the loft?"

Cosima grabs her shirt off of a chair, turning it right side out before putting it on and shrugging casually as she fixes the bottom, "I don't care, tell her I'm not interested in being pulled back into everything."

"That's it? Nothing about Kira?"

Cosima fights back a cough as she pulls her sweater back on, "I'm not taking her across the boarder just to put her in DYAD's hands, Delphine. 'The kid deserves a good life."

"This isn't _about_ DYAD. What about you? Are you.. _happy_ here?"

 _No, No, No.._

"Yeah, sure.." Cosima nods quickly, pulling her dreads out from underneath their trap in her sweater, "I guess. I can't really complain."

Delphine nods in return and falls back on the bed, "I wish I could convince you to come back with me."

"Wishes will get you nowhere, Delphine." Cosima walks over to her and leans down, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Delphine can't help a suddenly playful smile despite the situation as she quickly moves and kisses Cosima back, trapping a pouty lip between her teeth. "I found you, did I not?"

* * *

Kira knows somethings up when she and Lily are greeted with fresh-off-the-pan german apple pancakes for breakfast, but the sense-of-danger that she's learned to pick up on is absent.

Instead, Cosima is buzzing about the kitchen, granny smith apple shoved in her mouth in a rushed breakfast as she works on getting lunches around for the two of them.

Stress cooking.

Kira's learned that Cosima tends to do that when she gets 'over-emotional'. Whether it's actually to save time, she has yet to figure out.

Lily is still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as they sit down to eat.

Cosima turns around, mid-reach of an apple and coughs into her hands, washing the blood off of them before continuing her task as if nothing had even happened.

Kira looks up after finishing her glass of water, "Are we going to the clinic again soon?"

"Probably," Cosima hums breathlessly, shutting down another cough as she puts two apples into a tin lunch box, "I think I'm going to have to call in sick today."

Kira nods and pours a glass of orange juice, "We can stay at the afterschool program?"

"That'd be Awesome." Cosima looks around, spinning in a circle like a cat as she looks for the bread before cursing and walking over to the dining table to get her wallet out of her purse in search of four dollars. When she gets it out, she hands it directly to Kira, "I'll be there around four thirty to pick you up."

Half an hour early.

They'd need to make new habits to throw others off, Cosima didn't want to know how much sleuthing Delphine may have gotten away with.

Whether or not she wanted to trust Delphine, she wouldn't put that in line with Kira's life.

...

When Cosima goes outside to get the car started, ten minutes early to take Kira and Lily to school, she notices the missing car in the driveway of the bed and breakfast.

She wants to be relieved; however, she can't help the slight disappointment at Delphine no longer being there.

 _What did she expect, that Delphine would drop everything in her life and stay through hell and high water for her?_

Unlocking the front door to the old red buggy (that Rebecca not-so-affectionately dubbed a 'deathtrap'), Cosima pulled back the seat and helped Lily into the back before getting in herself and unlocking Kira's door for her.

* * *

Cosima plops down on the couch. Stretching out slightly, she was just about to cover up in the quilt resting over the back of the couch when a loud knock at the door makes her jump.

Cursing, she rises from her spot and pulls the blanket around her shoulders as she walks over to the door and gets up on her toes to look through the peep hole.

 _Rebecca._

Unable to turn down the house call, Cosima unlocks the door and opens it to get a better look at the mayor, "What are you doing here?"

"Shannon said you were ill." Breezing past her without invitation, she brings two bags of groceries into the apartment while looking around, "-and while usually I would use this as an excuse to _finally_ see where you live, I must admit I am concerned." Setting the bags down on the dining room table, Rebecca takes off her coat and walks back to an almost slack-mouthed Cosima.

 _Not good._

She's done nearly everything in her power to keep her from knowing about the auto-immune disorder.

All she suspects Rebecca knows is that Cosima, for whatever reason, has a weakened immune system.

"I-I.."

Rebecca closes the space between them, moving the back of her hand to press up against an already hot forehead, "You've been _off_ lately, is this why?"

Cosima looks up at her dumb-founded for a beat before shaking her head and pulling away, "Don't mother me, Becca. I'm fine."

 **...**

Cosima settles into the bed, where Rebecca is already half-sitting up on the bed, filling out paperwork.

Eventually the blonde glances at her when she knows Cosima isn't looking.

"Are you going through with adopting Shannon's niece?" Rebecca is still biting on her lower lip when Cosima turns her head to look over at her.

Cosima shifts from her back onto her side and lightly reaches out to thumb the silky fabric of Rebecca's emerald-hued blouse.

 _Greene_ , a small smile plays at her lips, _typical_.

"I believe she's your niece, too, Bec'." Cosima's voice is more exhausted than she anticipates.

"She's not my _niece_." The mayor's eyes nearly roll into her head as Cosima's hand trails down her thigh.

"What's it to you, then?"

"I.." Rebecca hesitates for the first time as Cosima crawls off of her side and pulls the paperwork away from her clutches.

"You..?

"-It seems inadequate that an adult and two children share a double bed."

Cosima rolls her eyes, and huffs out a sigh as she shakes her head in amusement, causing an already loose bun of dreads to almost slip and fall back into a ponytail. "Since when did I say I sleep in here often? Plus, more people have shared a bed this size before, we're pretty lucky as it is."

"-Regardless, one bedroom is hardly enough for a family of three."

"We're fine, Becca."

Rebecca moves to face her, closing the distance between them as she eventually manages to pin Cosima's wrists above her head and against the bed, "There's a new apartment complex that's been set up near the school. Three bedrooms, spacious... I practically own the landlord's life."

Warning bells go off in Cosima's head as she shifts her position to look at her, slowed by Rebecca's weight on top of her, "Are you insane? I couldn't afford that even if I started doing private dancing at th-"

"-I could pay for it. Most of the down payment and a fair portion of what little rent he might expect you to pay."

Cosima moves to sit up, only for Rebecca's grip on her to tighten. "We've already had this talk... Look, I'll think about it, okay?"

* * *

Delphine lets out a heavy breath as she slides the door to Felix's loft open with practiced ease and shuts it behind her without a second thought.

Dropping her bag and straightening her shoulders, she spots Felix and Sarah in the kitchen. Sarah is already making her way over when Delphine stumbles towards the living room, sleep deprived and emotionally exhausted.

 _She really wanted to bring Cosima home._

Sarah wraps her arms around Delphine's shoulders, catching the blonde off guard.

It takes a minute for her to respond, arms winding around the brunette at the odd display of affection and leaving her feeling completely baffled and guilty.

 _I know where Kira is.._

Sarah stills after a minute before wrinkling her nose in disgust, "Del', you smell like complete shit."

Delphine rolls her eyes as they pull away, "You're not the one who took a red-eye flight next to a man who probably never showered a day in his life just to get back to Toronto."

"You'd think DYAD would be up for kissin' your arse with all the shite you put up with," Sarah turns and walks towards Felix and his laptop, "Go take a shower, we're ordering lunch an' you're gonna tell us everything."

* * *

"Mr. Roosevelt!" Kira grins as she ran up to the gym teacher, Lily following behind her with a permission slip attached to the back of her backpack.

"'Ey, Kiddo!" Theodore ignores the jab and grins as the kid all but tackles him with a hug. "Aren't you supposed to be with Cosima?"

Kira shakes her head, curls flying. "Maybe. She's feeling sick and we ditched to go to the audition..!"

Theodore smirks. Cosima was going to have a shit fit. "~And?"

"I didn't miss a beat! I think I'm going to get the role I wanted."

"I know you'll get it." Theo grins and holds up his fist, keeping it in the air until she punches it, "Is your mom at home?"

Kira nods, "She called in sick."

"Well, I was just about to go pick up Jacob, Dylan, and Dakota. Do you want me to give you both a ride home?"

Kira looks at Lily, Lily looks at Kira. They both shrug before looking back at Theodore and nodding enthusiastically. "Yes, please!"

* * *

Cosima sighs slowly and leans back against the hospital bed, almost crying in relief from the fluffy pillow that she's been provided with.

Theodore sent her a text when Kira finally fell asleep at ten o'clock, like clockwork.

When Kira and Lily got home two days ago (after being 'scolded', changing out of their school uniforms and eating an indulgent after school snack), Kira had insisted and talking non-stop about the musical. Excited and giddy about the idea of getting role she'd wanted, she'd talked about it through homework, dinner and their movie (which was conveniently _Annie_ ).

The next morning, Cosima woke up nearly suffocating from coughing up blood and with a fever of 104.

Not wanting to scare another ten years off of Kira and Lily's lives, she'd finally set her pride aside and called Shay, who 'arranged' another room at the clinic.

It was a good decision, too, considering she had a seizure that afternoon.

The next day, when her temperature still hadn't lowered, Cosima woke up mid-afternoon to the airy noise of a cannula in a groggy, confused mess.

Lying in bed all day wasn't something she was used to, and despite being exhausted, it was still an adjustment.

Trying to settle comfortably on her back, Cosima reaches blindly across a small table for her phone and unlocks it, picking up the business card after pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and settling into her place as best as she could. Pursing her lips to the side nervously, she considers calling only to go into her messages folder and punch in the number.

She wiggles her lips silently in contemplation as she tries to come up with a good excuse to talk to her, only to come up empty.

 _ **Are you awake? It's not an emergency. Just want to chat.. ~C**_

After a minute of hovering over the 'send' button, Cosima finally relents and sends the text to Delphine's phone.

Ten minutes later, just as Cosima nearly drifts off to sleep, her phone buzzes and causes her to curse when she flinches at the intrusion.

 _ **Bonsoir, cherie! Oui, I just got home from visiting Sarah and Felix. How are you?**_

Cosima gives up on the idea of sleeping on her back and rolls over into a more comfortable position.

She saves Delphine's number in her contacts before typing up a reply.

 _ **A little under the weather.. and bored. :/**_

 _ **How are they?**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **Eskimo Pie: Is it serious? I can come back sooner, if you'd like..**_

 ** _..._**

 _ **Eskimo Pie: Sarah is finally moving out of Felix's apartment, it seems she's grown sick of his many visitors.**_

Cosima fights a small smile at the though and pulls the hospital blankets up to her shoulders.

 _ **I'll be alright. A friend is watching Kira until I'm set to go home.**_

 _ **I'm surprised she's lasted so long. He must get a lot of traffic. :P**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **Eskimo Pie:You're at the clinic?**_

 ** _.._**

 ** _Yepp. Wasting away in a bed courtesy of a hot nurse and waiting for a fever to go down._**

 ** _Eskimo Pie: Should I come back early? What is your temperature?_**

Cosima bites down on her lower lip as she considers telling her the truth, only to lower the temperature a fraction.

 _ **39.7C; lower than the night before. Take your time. We'll be here when you get back.**_

 _ **Eskimo Pie: Good. Keep me updated?**_

 _ **...**_

Cosima catches her tongue between her teeth, mouth pulling up in a tired smile, _ **As long as you promise not to drop everything if it spikes a degree, Dr. Cormier.**_

 _ **Eskimo Pie: Only if it doesn't go past 40.5. Go to bed, Brat! You need the rest. x**_


	5. Chapter 5

Cosima breathes in slowly, tricking her mind into relaxing as she lays on her stomach, propped up on her elbows above a plethora of fluffy, large pillows.

"Almost ready."

Cosima nods and rests her chin on the pillows, shutting her eyes, "And you insist on a rec-" Cosima's brow twitches slightly as she stops speaking for a brief moment when she feels the bulb of the thermometer enter her, "-tal temperature, why?"

"You squirm too much," Shay smirks and lightly smacks Cosima's ass with the hand that's not holding the thermometer still, "plus, you have an adorable butt."

"So I've heard." Cosima rolls her eyes and breathes in slowly, willing her lungs to get the air she couldn't on her side.

Shay rolls her eyes at Cosima's response, waiting a minute before mumbling loud enough for only Cosima to hear despite the privacy her room granted, "...How're you feeling over there?"

Cosima shrugs slightly, "Better than yesterday."

Shay's interrupted as a small beep goes off and she carefully pulls the thermometer out, "You should, your temps down to 102.5. At this rate, you should be able to go home tomorrow."

Cosima nods and sighs in relief as she once again rolls onto her back. Usually she hated sleeping on her back but exhaustion and needing _air_ seemed to win over her own taste in sleeping positions, "Good, as awesome as the beds are, I miss the apartment."

Shay offers a sympathetic smile before remembering the envelope in her bag. "Oh!" Getting up, she walks over and pulls it out, handing it to Cosima, "a lady in the cafeteria asked me to give this to you, I have no idea how she knew where you were."

Cosima looks at it and furrows her brows. In a loopy, hastily written scrawl were the words ' _Cosima Sadler'._ "Do you remember what she looked like?"

Shay shrugs beside her as she disposes of the thermometer sleeve and disinfects it, "Mid-aged, dark straightened hair, pale skin, country sorta' vibe.. oh! She had a _killer_ accent from the Isles."

Shay wiggles her brows suggestively, aiming to tease.

Cosima nods slightly and turns the letter over in the hands, still wary as she opens it despite her suspicions that it _might_ just be Siobhan.

" _Holy shit._ "

"What- _oh.._ wow." Shay leans over her shoulder, glancing down at the envelope's contents. "That's got to be what, 5... maybe 7K? Easily?"

"At least enough to get us comfortably through winter and then some as long as I keep working at the store.."

"You know your landlord is an ass, right?"

"Coming from you? Totally. He's a jerk." Cosima grumbles as she carefully closes the envelope, devoid of any note or explanation, and tosses it (skillfully) into her bag.

Shay rolls her eyes and walks over to it, putting the envelope into one of the inside pockets and zipping up the bag, "I was wondering if you wanted to spend dinner next week with us at Theodore's house? Kira didn't want to have Thanksgiving without you so we held off, she said you might want to bring a guest?"

"That'd be awesome," Cosima coughs into her hand, scrunching her face in disgust before cleaning the blood off of her hands and rinsing the blood down with apple cider, "I just wish I could spend more time with Keer'."

Shay sits back in her spot by Cosima's bed, suddenly fighting the urge to reach out and comfort her, "I think she's beginning to figure out what you do for Rebecca, but I know she respects you for.. everything you've been doing lately, extra work and all."

"God, I hope she doesn't figure out about Rebecca. She gets the heeby-jeebies from her already."

"Why don't you take a nap? Theodore's bringing her around in a couple hours since school was canceled."

Cosima nods and settles back under the blankets, not putting up a fight when Shay helps her.

The cannula got in the way of everything. Even though Cosima was pretty sure she didn't need it anymore, Shay insisted on using it during nights in case her temp spiked and she went through another seizure.

With Kira depending on her, Cosima has (begrudgingly) learned to accept whatever keeps her able to protect the kid, even when she'd rather fight against it.

It took her almost a week to get down to 102.5 and Delphine was due back in town by tomorrow.

She isn't going to risk not being able to leave before Delphine gets there.

* * *

"I thought I'd find you out here."

Delphine jumps, letting out a hushed ' _Merde_!' as Marion's hand brushes her shoulder. Turning to recognize the woman, Delphine offers a shaky smile then tilts her head back at the sky, closing her eyes momentarily to control her annoyance.

Marion chuckles and folds her arms as she watches Delphine throw the remains of her cigarette on the ground, snuffing it out with the bottom of her shoe, "How was your visit with Cosima?"

Delphine's eyes widen, looking back at Marion questioningly, "How did yo-"

"Who do you think found the lead? I've known where she was for quite a while now."

"How long?" _Why didn't you tell me?_

"Since around late January, I've had close associates keeping tabs on her." _Presque un an?! Putain.._

Delphine nods slightly, reaching into her pocket with a heavy sigh and pulling out another cigarette, "Answer me this, then. Is she selling herself?"

* * *

"Mommy!"

"Hey, Keer'!" Cosima smiles as she sits up in bed when Kira comes running in, almost jumping into Cosima's arms and hugging her tight, "How're you, kid?"

"I'm good. Dakota painted my nails!" Kira grins and holds up her hand to show off pink polish.

"Wow, those are awesome. She did a good job."

Kira nods, before settling into the spot next to her, "How are you? Teddy said you had a stroke."

" _Seizure_ ," Cosima corrects before adding in after thought, "and you gotta stop calling him that, kid."

Kira nods and glances outside, waiting for Theodore to disappear in search of food before she turns to her aunt, "Are you sure you're okay, Auntie Cosima?"

Cosima offers a brave smile, "Of course. I'll be good to come home by tomorrow morning."

"Awesome!"

Cosima nods and settles into her pillows, "How is school? Do you need any help with your homework?"

"Only a little," Kira pouts slightly before grinning, "-buuuuuuut Dakota promised to help me with it tonight."

"Alright. Do you want to go shopping later in the week? I think it's time you got a new winter coat."

Kira nods in agreement before pursing her lips to the side in concentration, "If you're feeling up for it, Auntie C. ... Will you color with me? None of the boys _ever_ want to."

Cosima grins. She was on board with anything as long as it wasn't sleeping, "Sure, why not? Did you bring your coloring supplies?"

Kira gets off the bed to grab her backpack which she tore off when she got into the room, "Ted- _Mr. Rosenhof_ bought me a new set of colored pencils."

"Wow, lucky you!"

Kira nods enthusiastically, "He even bought me a new book! It's about woodland creatures!"

"Cool," Cosima smiles as she moves to sit up and crisscross her legs, "Did you say thank you?"

Kira nods again, quickly as she climbs onto the foot of the bed with the bag, pulling out a clipboard, a coloring book, and colored pencils, "Yeah! He said it was for helping with the animals."

"Wow, that's awesome, Keer." Cosima grins and settles into her place as Kira flips through the book.

 _What else did I miss?_

"Do you want to draw the bunnies or the deer?"

 _Is this what Sarah feels every time she thinks about her daughter?_ Cosima glances up to see Theo peaking curiously into the room, guilt growing in the pit of her stomach. _How much longer?_

Looking up to see Kira's contemplative face as she looks between two pictures, Cosima's stomach knots up painfully.

"Auntie Cosima?"

 _Kira deserves-no,_ needs _-her mom in her life_.. Surely they could manage a way for them to be reunited safely?

"Auntie Cosima!" Kira looks up when she doesn't get an answer, completely annoyed by the silence.

"What? Hmm.. Oh, the deer, totally!"

* * *

Delphine pushes her suitcase under the bed once she hung up everything that needed to remain unfolded. The flight back was long, albeit less stressful than her previous departure.

Marion ensured that she got first class on her way to Detroit, a day early, and Delphine rented a car from the same car rental as before.

Only this time she intended to stay as long as she needed, or until Helena went into labor; however, she didn't see Cosima the day she got there.

Cosima wasn't back from whatever clinic she was staying in yet.

Sitting down on her bed, Delphine settles for distraction and dials the number to the rehab center that Alison is staying in for a distraction.

Advice on a dinner she wanted to plan during her stay would help.

* * *

Shay's powder-blue bug pulls up to Cosima's apartment complex just as the brunette starts to stir from their one hour drive.

After putting her car in park and looking at Cosima, Shay smiles and gently reaches over to rub the corner of her shoulder, "Hey sleepy-head, we're here."

Grumbling, Cosima rubs an eye, grabs her glasses off of her lap, and puts them back on, "really?"

Shay chuckles and rolls her eyes, "Really... Come on, I'll help you get inside. Kira and Lily will be here after lunch."

"Kira and Lily? But it's a school day.." Cosima yawns, half-aware as she's shoving her arms back through the sleeves of her grey coat.

"Yeah, they cancelled school. There's a virus going around that's infected half the student body, even Desmond got sick. Didn't Theodore tell you?"

Oh. _Kira must have been a carrier._

"..No," Cosima stretches slightly and fixes her scarf, "we should get inside."

Shay nods in agreement and gets out of the car after unbuckling.

Cosima follows, although much slower, and walks around to the trunk where Shay is pulling out her worn duffel bag and struggling to get the oxygen tank out, "Y'know, I happen to have a pair of perfectly capable, working arms."

Shay shook her head and set the duffle bag down, "No way, not until you go on another run with Theodore. We're banning you from heavy lifting."

Cosima blows out an annoyed, yet slightly amused breath of air as she watches Shay continue to try to wiggle the bulky tank out of an already full trunk.

"Perhaps I can help?"

Cosima jumps in her spot, turning around to spot Delphine walking towards them with her arms folded.

Almost immediately, Shay takes a protective step closer to Cosima. "Have you caught the fever that's going around?"

"Non."

Bristling slightly, an act very _un_ - _Shay_ , the shorter blonde relents and moves out of the way, "Take a try."

Delphine walks over to the trunk, examines the tank briefly and shoots Cosima a curious glance before returning to the task at hand and pushing the tank back in, changing the angle, and pulling it out flawlessly. "Where would you like me to put this?" Delphine focuses all of her attention towards Shay as she speaks, setting the oxygen tank's wheels down on the side of the road.

Shay looks at Cosima-who nods mutely while folding her arms-before nodding towards the direction of the apartment, "Upstairs, '317A."

Delphine nods and follows Cosima and Shay into the apartment complex, Shay shouldering Cosima's bag after the prior shuts the trunk.

Delphine catches herself fighting to clench her hands into fists when Cosima walks a step ahead of Shay, the short blonde's hand on the small of her back.

 _Qui est-elle?_

Stopping at the door, Cosima pulls her keys out of her coat pocket and unlocks the door to the apartment, walking in after taking the key out.

Shay follows, leaving Delphine standing awkwardly in the middle of the hallway as Cosima falls down onto the couch in exhaustion.

Fighting off her nerves, Delphine walks into the apartment and sets the oxygen tank close to the couch before taking a spot by the wall, silent and unnoticed as Cosima takes off her glasses and rubs the remaining sleep out of her eyes.

Shay puts a kettle on the stove, eyes flickering over towards Cosima protectively as the brunette sets her glasses on the small coffee table to her right.

Cosima rises from the couch slowly before walking over to a coat closet (mostly filled with books and some of Kira's outdoors toys) and taking off her coat. Delphine's eyes follow her every movement as Cosima hangs it up, shuts the door just as quickly as she came over, and returns to the couch in an exhausted heap.

The tea kettle whistles and Shay pours the hot water into a cup before checking the time and going into the fridge to get a few ingredients out, "Do you need any help with dinner?"

Cosima lifts her head up from it's spot on a fluffy pillow, resting her head on the arm of the couch in a way Delphine can only consider cat-like, "M-mm, nope."

The fridge opens and shuts again. Shay walks over to Cosima and sets a cup of tea down on a coaster, causing Delphine's eyes to drift from it to the small space between Cosima and Shay.

A red glass ornamental angel dangles from the lamp.

Delphine doesn't know that there are three others in different colors spread around the house, one for every sister.

Alison, Cosima, Helena, and Sarah.

"-..Mhmm."

"Okay, call me if you need anything." Shay closes the space between them, pressing a chaste kiss to Cosima's cheek before stopping in front of Delphine and speaking loud enough for Cosima to hear, "make sure she gets _rest_ in _bed_."

Delphine leaves her spot by the wall after the door is shut safely behind her, "you said you were going to be home yesterday morning.."

Cosima shifts slightly in her spot, allowing a still fever addled brain a moment to come up with a semi-coherent answer before she slowly sits up and acknowledges Delphine. "Compromised immune system, remember? Shay didn't want to risk another.." _Shit_.. "..relapse."

Delphine watches as Cosima wraps small hands around the cup Shay left behind, "relapse?"

Delphine watches as Cosima takes a drink, avoiding the topic at hand, "how was your flight?"

"It was fine, thank you." Sitting down on the other side of the couch, she turns to face Cosima as her voice softens, "how are you feeling? What's your temperature?"

Cosima lifts her eyes up to the ceiling as she starts to convert her last reading to Celsius, only to have her mind scramble into a jumbled mess, ".. lower than before."

"Do you have a thermometer?"

Cosima nods slightly, taking another small sip of her drink before visibly fighting off a cough as her chest surges forward for a fraction of a second, "bathroom, medicine cabinet, lowest shelf."

Delphine rises from the couch and walks into the bathroom, returning a minute later with the thermometer covered in a clean sleeve (and after noticing the amount of pills kept out of reach from Kira).

"Open."

Cosima obeys, opening her mouth only to shut it around the thermometer once it's turned on and in place. She looks up after a moment to watch Delphine's expression as the immunologist holds it in place. Cosima closes her eyes when a familiar beeping noise signals from the thermometer. Drumming her fingers along the edge of the couch, she looks back up at her after Delphine pulls the thermometer out of her mouth, silence growing.

"39.4.. Cosima, you really should..."

Cosima shrugs the comment off, carefully rising from her spot to go into the kitchen and snatch a small bag of cough drops from on top of the fridge.

She doesn't have anymore time to spend at the clinic.

Delphine watches her as she does and moves to set the discarded cup of tea by the counter, "at least lie down?"

"Kira's going to be home for dinner.. maybe Lily, too." Cosima takes one out, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth before opening the freezer and looking for something light to make for dinner later, "You can stay for dinner, but I'd appreciate it if you kept anything clone-related off the table."

Delphine furrows her brows and nods slightly, "D'accord.. now will you please lie down? At least until they get here?"

"I have to get dinner around." Cosima opens one of the cupboards, aiming on pulling out a mixing bowl when Delphine closes the distance between them and stops her by wrapping a hand around her wrist.

"This isn't any time to be stubborn, Cosima. We can order food. No?"

Cosima nods slowly, caught off-guard and wide-eyed as Delphine lets go of her wrist and wraps her arm just below her shoulder blades, subconsciously trying to make Cosima _want_ to lie down by way of guiding her towards the door without even making her realize Delphine's arm is slightly pushing her towards it.

Delphine shuts the cupboard with her free hand before slowly guiding Cosima towards her room, this time making progress, "Let's get you into bed and under the covers, _bichette_ , you heard the order."

Cosima is almost at the door when Delphine moves to retrieve the oxygen tank and bring it into the room with them.

 **...**

Cosima winces slightly from stiff muscles as she settles into her spot on the bed.

Delphine crosses the small bedroom (which has a little more character than the rest of the house) and double checks that the room heater is on. Satisfied, she turns around to see Cosima adjusting her cannula slightly, already under the covers in nothing but her underwear and t-shirt, pajama pants nearby in case Kira comes home early and she needs to talk to Theo.

Getting under the covers of the bed as well, Delphine takes off her shirt and scoots closer to Cosima until she can pull her into her arms.

"Y'know," Cosima mumbles after a minute or two of comfortable silence, "you don't have to stay if you don't want to.."

"Hmm." Delphine leans forward to press a tender kiss to Cosima's forehead, "you must still be confused from your fever," she smiles and presses a second chaste kiss to Cosima's lips, "there's nowhere I'd rather be right now."

Cosima nods and relaxes into Delphine slowly before a small, goofy smile spreads across her face despite already beginning to fight off sleep, "I guess we'll just have to see if you can pass the test, then."

"And what's that, cherie?"

Cosima closes her eyes, "surviving dinner with the three of us."

"I guess so.." Delphine watches, waiting for Cosima to fall asleep before taking to watching Cosima's chest rise and fall safely, insured by the oxygen tank.


End file.
